Abstract: A 2year field experiment was conducted in 2011 and 2012 to investigate the effects of phosphorus (P) fertilization on the leaf area index (LAI), dry matter accumulation (DMA), and P use efficiency (PUE) of maize in wheat/maize/soybean intercropping system. Five P fertilization rates were installed, i.e., 0, 45, 90, 135, and 180 kg P₂O₅·hm^-2 for wheat, marked as WP₀, WP₁, WP₂, WP₃, and WP₄, respectively, and 0, 37.5, 75, 112.5, and 150 kg P₂O₅·hm^-2 for maize, marked as MP₀, MP₁, MP₂, MP₃, and MP₄, respectively. During the coexisted growth periods of wheat and maize, P fertilization increased the LAI, leaf area duration (LAD), and stem and leaf DMA of maize significantly. After the jointing stage of maize, the maize LAI, LAD, DMA, and crop growth rate (CGR) all decreased after an initial increase with the increasing P rate, with the maximum growth in treatment MP₂ or MP₃. During the reproductive stage of maize, the maize dry mass translocation from vegetative to reproductive organ increased with increasing P fertilization rate, and the grain yield of both maize and whole cropping system increased firstly and decreased then, with the maximum grain yield of maize and whole cropping system being 6588 and 11955 kg·hm^-2 in treatment P₃, respectively. The P apparent recovery efficiency of maize was the highest (26.3%) in treatment MP₂, being 82.6%, 38.4%, and 152.9% higher than that in MP₁ (14.4%), MP₃ (19.0%), and MP₄ (10.4%), respectively. In sum, for the wheat/maize/soybean intercropping system, applying appropriate amount of P fertilizer could promote maize growth, alleviate the impact of wheat on maize, and consequently, increase the P apparent recovery efficiency of maize. In this study, the appropriate P fertilization rate was 75-112.5 kg P₂O₅·hm^-2.